Thoughts by Young Men

Lately I’ve been allowing fear to rule my life. I’ve had the opportunity to address some hurdles that have been in the way of my spiritual walk and I’ve approached them with trepidation. I have been in fear of the testing that will come with the new conviction.
Whenever a believer puts to death a fleshly feature of the old self, trials will come his way. My perspective on these trials has not been right. I have seen the trials as a undesirable byproduct that are geared towards seeing me fail, as if the hurdles might be readjusted in height right as I am ready to leap over sets two, three, four…
What a sad perspective on trials. What a sad reason for fear! I ought to love and be utterly overjoyed by the nearing of my heart to my Savior’s. And on trials?

James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Oh Lord, give me the strength to love and desire You above all else. May I seek to meet the testing of my faith so as to let steadfastness have its perfect work.

I propose that Sheperds Conference become the third Sacrament (honor of J Calvin)

In a continuing battle against lazyness and a move to redeem the days because they are evil - I vow to rise earlier and find strength in God

• Saying a prayer for Micah Lugg’s cross country roadtrip. May edification abound! #
• Praise God for providing time off work for the 09 Shepherd’s Conference! #

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Older men teaching younger men 101: Mr. Oas just taught me the official way to tie a double winsor.

It’s 12:57… in the morning. I have just finished creating the bulletin for one28 tomorrow and have closed down inDesign and Illustrator. One of the downsides to working a retail job and having the body of a bouncer means they like to stick you on closing shift on the weekends. I actually enjoy the the closing process but one of the default products is that, more often than not, I don’t get to work on the bulletins for sunday until sometime after my 11pm shift lets out and my 30 minute commute subsides.

Now that I am finished with the bulletin and am particularly bleary-eyed from the long day, I thought I would write a blog post. Actually, the reason I am writing is just to express the sheer excitement I have for tomorrow’s service. One of the benefits to my late bulletin making is that I am both focused on the events of the following day and am one of the first to welcome in the new “best day.”

Tomorrow is communion sunday. Sunday is already the pinnacle of the week, it is the lung-opening cold of the proverbial “breath of fresh air,” it is the chorus to the song, it is the bottom crust on the pie, it is the heath bar in Mrs. Light’s famous desert (I don’t know why I thought of that, but it sounded REALLY good right now…)

Every other day of the week is like the long climb on the hike. I recently hiked a trail that had several waterfalls on its path. There were three smaller waterfalls and one “mega” waterfall at the end of the trail. This is how I imagine communion sundays at our church. We don’t have communion every week (sorry Calvin) so there is an extra special atmosphere when we do finally celebrate the Lord’s work on the cross.
As we came to each of the smaller waterfalls, we took a moment to stand in wonder and the beauty, splash some cold, Washington river in our faces and then continue on to the next. Everything about a waterfall is a rush to the senses - the sounds, the sight, the rain of the residue and the smell of wet foliage. The hike was fairly steep and for a person with “much to love,” the journey to the top was a considerable workout. By the time we neared the big waterfall, my tongue was swollen, my body was sweaty and heaving, my pack felt heavier - a burden I was ready to unload.

When we can around the last corner there was an instant mist of cold water and air that blew around our faces, legs and hands. We had worked long and hard to get to this point and now it was time to refresh our bodies in the cold water of the waterfall. As I let my bag down and rubbed my aching shoulders we walked up the stream to the waterfall and stood under just the outskirts of the waterfalls massive cascade - standing directly under that volume of water would have been deadly.
I remember the feeling of being fully immersed in the fresh mountain water - new energy filled me as I went to my knees and felt the water pour over me. There was a complete “restoration” from how I was when I arrived to the waterfall.

This is how I see communion sunday - we arrive hot and sweaty. Our souls are exhausted from keeping on drudgery of the week and the hot summer of the world. We then come to the large waterfall and we lay our burdens down and are permitted to come and stand under even the smallest of the restoring spray that surrounds Christ’s redemptive work on the cross. We are completely renewed, engulfed, cleansed and refreshened.

Coming back down that mountain we were soaked - completely wet from dripping hair to sloshing shoes. Our clothes clung to our bodies and our skin glistened; in essence, we were completely identified as people who had made it to the waterfall. In a similar way I look forward to the entrance into the following week where passion meets pavement and we will have renewed opportunity to live out the evidence of our restoring communion sunday.

Praise God for providing time off work for the 09 Shepherd’s Conference!

I am thirsty. I am thirsty, dehydrated and feel sick. My body is slow to respond, my eyes have a hard time staying open and alert and senses send sporadic messages to my brain that alternate between too sensitive and not sensitive enough.
The worst part of my condition is that I know what makes me sick and I continue to refuse the remedy. The thirst I speak of is the thirst for God’s word. How long will my sin send roots of sloth and laziness around my heart and ring the desire for God from it?
In a continuing attempt to share my struggles and burdens with the body of Christ, this is my confession tonight. I have been entertained by second rate passions, “satisfied” by salty water that leaves me worse off than when I sought satisfaction. I am dehydrated. My convictions are lethargic, my acceptance of sin around me is passive and my sporadic senses do not take offense or attribute glory to the one it is due.

Now it is time to drink. When the days are evil, how can I be caught sleeping on the path because of failing to drink the water in my hands? Now it is time to drink. Praise God for His grace to convict the lazy heart and still provide access to the freshest fountain for those who WILLINGLY refuse to drink - even when, for appearances sake, they have their head UNDER THE WATER!

Woe to my apathy; glory to God for His grace. Now it is time to drink

Saying a prayer for Micah Lugg’s cross country roadtrip. May edification abound!

Sunday is the best day. This is a principle that both believer and unbeliever could probably agree upon. WHY it is the best day is where we might differ. I was helping a customer pick out an accessory item for their beloved gadget on Saturday and as is my habit we got into talking about her line of work. As it turned out, she and her husband were both in the audio/visual installation industry and have done some work for GBC in the past. The conversation then turned as she began bemoaning the fact that she would have to spend “her” sunday at church to get a better grasp on what the client’s audio need would be.

Yesterday while listening to sermon number two of the morning, I flashed back to the conversation. Why was it that I and so many others at this awesome fellowship continually sacrifice so much time to partake in an event that so many others would consider an option slightly better than going to the dentist? Church is somewhat ironic. ¹ We spend part of our day cramming into a somewhat smelly room to listen to one man talk about his understanding of a book that we can all read for ourselves.

The primary distinction must come from the fact that our perspectives are from two very different viewpoints. Thinking about this I came up with this analogy that I wanted to share with you all.
Going to church, without the indwelling Holy Spirit revealing the truths of scripture to you, is a lot like going to a 3D movie without the special glasses. Without the special glasses, you will never understand the concepts of scripture that lunge at your face, the depth of God’s grace that overwhelms our senses or the vivid colors that grab your attention. To the rest of the world not wearing the glasses, this concept of “church” is sitting in an oversized theatre where the image is understandable but incredibly hazy and entirely unentertaining. No amount of “good friends,” side conversations before and after the message or gratification in pleasing parents in attendance is going to make anyone want to continue coming back for more. Without Christ in the individuals life and the Holy Spirit working new life in their heart Church simply doesn’t make sense.

Praise God for His mercy upon us and letting us wear the special glasses. Enjoy!